[Chapter 4-3] The Righteousness of Man Is Nothing to Be Proud of (Romans 4:1-25)
(Romans 4:1-25)
“What
then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the
flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast
about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham
believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him
who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
But
to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly,
his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes
the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from
works:
‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.’
Does
this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the
uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for
righteousness. How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised or
uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he
received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the
faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the
father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that
righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of
circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also
walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still
uncircumcised.
For
the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham
or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the
promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where
there is no law there is no transgression.
Therefore
it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise
might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law,
but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of
us all (as it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’) in
the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead
and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who,
contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many
nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’
And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already
dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of
Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully
convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And
therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’
Now
it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but
also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up
Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our
offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”
(Romans 4:1) “What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?”
Even
Abraham, the father of faith, was really a weak man in the flesh. His
flesh could not wait for the promise of God, and so he took Hagar, his
wife’s maidservant, to bear a child, who later stood against God. In his
flesh, Abraham had nothing to be proud of. Out of the weaknesses of his
flesh, he had betrayed his wife to save his own life. He had done what
he should have never done as a husband. Given this, what could he boast
of his flesh before God? There was nothing to be proud of in his flesh.
Romans
chapter 4 explains to us what it means to have faith in the
righteousness of God. As an example of this, it tells us how Abraham
attained God’s righteousness, asking, “What then shall we say that
Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?” (Romans 4:1)
Abraham had nothing to be proud of in his flesh, nor any righteousness.
On the contrary, we can see from the Bible that he even failed to abide
by the moral standard of mankind. To save his own life, he had betrayed
his wife and as we can see from this, Abraham didn’t even have any
righteousness of man.
However,
because he believed in the Word of the righteousness of God in its
entirety with his heart, his faith was approved by God. What, then,
happened to his sin of betraying his wife? This sin, too, had already
been blotted out by God. God had blotted out the sin of Abraham with the
gospel of the water and the Spirit containing His righteousness. This
is the power of the true gospel.
What
is this gospel that contains God’s righteousness? It is the gospel of
the water and the Spirit that has such power. Abraham had no
righteousness of man, but he had faith in the righteousness of God. This
is how Abraham became the father of faith for all people, because of
this faith. The righteousness of God that Abraham received from God was
not attained through his own human righteousness.
For
us, now living in the 21st century, messages in the Book of Romans may
perplex us. Paul said in Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by
works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.” Paul makes
it clear here that it was not by his works that Abraham received the
righteousness of God and was approved by God as a righteous man. On the
contrary, Paul explains that it was by believing in the righteousness of
God that Abraham’s sins were covered.
Does
this then mean that God considered Abraham as sinless even as he
actually had sin? No. It means that God’s righteousness blotted out all
his sins. God does not call anyone with sin as sinless just because this
person believes in Jesus.
However,
there are too many Christians today who believe in Jesus without
knowing the righteousness of God. Yet their faith is never upright, nor
can they blot out their sins with their current faith. If Abraham had
been justified by the righteousness of his flesh, then he would have had
something to boast about. But the righteousness of God that he obtained
came by his faith in the Word of God, not by his own righteousness of
man.
Therefore,
before God, Abraham was someone who could boast of God’s righteousness.
He had nothing to be proud of in his flesh, and yet because of his
faith in the righteousness of God, he became a great man of faith. In
the Book of Romans, Paul explained what it is to have faith in God’s
righteousness. Faith in the righteousness of God means to receive the
remission of sin by believing in Jesus Christ, and as a result, be
blessed to have our sins covered before God. So it is fitting for anyone
who believes in God’s righteousness to be accounted righteous as a
reward for this faith. The topic to be developed through the Book of
Romans is the righteousness of God.
(Romans 4:2) “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
Abraham
was not accounted righteous by God for his own works. For what, then,
was his faith approved? His faith was approved by God because he
believed in all the Word of promises that God had given him.
The
faith that enables us to obtain God’s righteousness is also like this.
Our faith is approved by God not because of the good deeds of our flesh,
but because we believe that the baptism Jesus received from John the
Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross constitutes the righteousness
of God that brings us the remission of our sins.
(Romans 4:3) “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’”
Abraham
attained God’s righteousness by believing in His Word, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness. Abraham’s faith thus became one that
was approved by God.
Some
Bible scholars interpret the righteousness of God that Abraham attained
by believing God’s Word through the lens of the Doctrine of
Justification, but this is not correct. The origin of the Doctrine of
Justification is this: some theologians who couldn’t get their sins
blotted out even as they believed in Jesus came up with the idea that
because they believed in God, God would call them His people.
Even
now, many people still think that although Abraham had sin, God
considered him as one of His sinless people because of his faith.
However, the righteousness of God is not like this. Those who believe in
the righteousness of God truly become righteous people. Just as God
actually gave Abraham the promised son, faith in God’s righteousness
does in fact bring real righteousness into every believing heart.
Because God speaks and fulfills what He has spoken, those who believe in
His Word believe in the Truth, and therefore their faith is approved by
God. That’s because God and His Word are true.
For
you and I living in this age, if we believe in the baptism that Jesus
received from John to blot out our sins, the blood of the Cross, and His
death and resurrection exactly as they are, then we, too, can come to
have the faith that enables us to receive the remission of all our sins.
It is when we believe in the Word of the water and the Spirit that our
faith is approved by God. This faith actually brings God’s righteous
into our hearts concretely. That’s because Jesus accepted the sins of
the world by being baptized, dying on the Cross, and rising from the
dead again, all in reality. The baptism and blood of Jesus have blotted
out all our sins once and for all. Faith in the Word is the very faith
in the righteousness of God.
(Romans 4:4) “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.”
If
we had done something meritorious, spiritually or carnally, to attain
the righteousness of God, then we would be qualified to receive God’s
righteousness, but the reality is that we have failed to do anything
upright to attain God’s righteousness. That’s the simple truth. No
matter how virtuously we might live, we can never obtain God’s
righteousness through our own goodness.
If
someone finds a job and is paid for his work, then his wage would not
be gratuitous. However, through our own works, it is impossible to
receive God’s righteousness. That’s because we are incapable of doing
anything that enables us to receive God’s righteousness as a reward.
Therefore, the righteousness of God is only attained as a gift, and this
gift is given to us only when we believe in the righteous works of God
that the Lord has fulfilled. If we have received the righteousness of
God by faith, then clearly, this is a gift of faith given by God to
those who believe in this righteousness.
Those Who Have Attained the Righteousness of God without Working for Him
(Romans 4:5) “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,”
The
Word of Truth is that even though we became sinners by failing to walk
by the Law perfectly, if we obtain the righteousness of God by believing
that Jesus took upon the sins of the world through the baptism given by
John the Baptist, and in His death on the Cross as our remission of
sin, then God will approve our faith as the right faith. To know thus
and to believe thus is to have the faith in the righteousness of God.
To
save us from our sins, who are by nature ungodly, God sent His Son to
this earth, made Him be baptized and crucified, raised Him from the
dead, and has thereby made us righteous. It is in this God that we
believe. We believe in the Truth that Jesus has delivered us from the
sins of the world through His baptism and blood. Therefore, it is by
believing in His righteousness that our faith is approved by God. God
approves the faith of those who know and believes in His righteousness
as the right faith.
The
Lord spoke about the blessedness of those to whom God imputes
righteousness even as they have not worked for God. David said that
those who are blessed by God are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered. This passage explains the gospel, which is
the righteousness of God.
How,
then, can we obtain the righteousness of God and receive the remission
of our sins? To be remitted from our sins, what kind of faith must we
have before God? Since no one can keep the Law, it is only by believing
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the gospel given by God, that
we can obtain the righteousness of God and receive the remission of our
sins.
There
are many people who are trying to have their faith approved by God by
leading a virtuous life. Some people say that the Sabbath Day must be
kept faithfully, and others say that we must not eat squid or pork. Such
notions are derived from the mistaken thought that they should try to
get their faith approved by God through their own acts. So in their
confused thoughts, they are still seeking after the righteousness of
man.
People
must realize that it is by knowing and believing in the righteousness
of God that they can be saved from their sins. Yet despite this, many
people think that if they believe in Jesus, they then must be sanctified
gradually, live virtuously, keep the Law, and not commit sin. That is
why they end up missing out on God’s righteousness. Confounded by such
fallacious beliefs, they believe that their goal in believing in Jesus
is to sanctify their lives. However, their faith is an extremely
erroneous faith that has gone far astray from the righteousness of God.
Have
you attained God’s righteousness by faith apart from works? The faith
that has received salvation by God’s help is the faith that believes in
the righteousness of God. You may have believed in Jesus as your Savior
to be saved from your sins, but if you believe in Him without knowing
the righteousness of God, then your faith is all in vain. Are you
holding onto the righteousness of God? Because we are fundamentally
incapable of being upright before God, unless we hold onto His
righteousness, it is impossible for us to be saved.
Human
beings are by nature seeds of evildoers. So before the gospel of the
righteousness of God came, it was impossible for them to live
virtuously. That’s why God Himself came to save sinners, for He had
compassion for them. Jesus, who came to save sinners from their sins,
fulfilled all the righteousness of God with the baptism that He received
from John the Baptist in the Jordan River. By being baptized by John
the Baptist and dying on the Cross, Jesus washed away all our sins and
has saved us all. All the righteousness of God was held in the birth of
Jesus, His baptism, His death on the Cross, and His resurrection. It is
Jesus who fulfilled all God’s righteousness when He came to this earth.
In
this world, there are those who believe in their own righteousness.
Some people even lay down their life for others. This is the
righteousness of man. But everything in this world has a reason. Is
there anyone who can really sacrifice himself for others without any
heed to his own interest? The Lord said, “There is no one who does good,
none.” Someone who drowned while trying to save someone else is praised
for his virtue. But delivering a drowning man is an act of human
righteousness.
In
all cultures, there is an underlying moral principle that promotes good
and punishes evil. People believe that the virtuous are to be rewarded,
while the wicked are to be punished. So people are inclined to manifest
the righteousness of man, even though by nature there is no goodness in
mankind. People cling to this principle because they are beholden to
the righteousness of man. Is there anyone who would willingly lay down
his life for someone else, without being motivated to build his own
righteousness of man? No. All human beings’ hearts are self-centered.
Even when they love, they can only share self-centered, egoistic love,
and they can only build virtue according to their own righteousness.
Recently,
I heard from one of the deacons at my Church that her father-in-law was
about to pass away. I heard this around noon, and then around
mid-night, I heard the news that the father-in-law passed away. Hearing
the news, I congratulated the deacon for the passing of her
father-in-law. I did so because that man knew the righteousness of God
and believed in it.
This
man had never come to God’s Church in his life, not even once. About a
year before his death, when he was under hospital care, some of our
ministry workers went to visit him and preached the gospel to him. But
he refused to listen, saying that his hearing wasn’t any good. Later,
after he was discharged from the hospital, the deacon preached the
gospel to him again, and then he said that he believed in the Word of
the gospel. He didn’t want to believe at first because he did not know
the reason and need as to why he should believe in Jesus. But when his
body fell ill, his eldest son went broke, he lost all hope on this
earth, and he felt the need to listen to the gospel containing God’s
righteousness and he accepted it into his heart. Before he passed away,
the deacon confirmed his faith once more, and he professed that because
all his sins were passed onto Jesus when He was baptized, he was now
sinless.
This
man received the remission of his sins by believing in the
righteousness of God. In his life he had never come to God’s Church to
worship there, nor had he shown any devotion to God or given any
offerings. He had not prayed for the spread of the gospel of God either.
Yet despite all this, when he heard about God’s righteousness and
believed in it, this righteousness of God remitted away all his sins. By
believing in the gospel of the righteousness of God with his heart, he
became a righteous man. The gospel that he heard was the gospel of the
water and the Spirit that was more than sufficient to blot out all his
sins. Hearing this amazing gospel of God that contains His
righteousness, the man put on its power.
A
man who could never be saved from his sins in any other way was saved
by believing in the righteousness of God. This is the result of the
right faith that trusts in God’s righteousness. In the gospel where the
righteousness of God is contained, the mercy and power of God are
revealed. God’s mercy is the great love of God that is bestowed on all
human beings who do not deserve to be saved at all. Because God had so
much compassion for that sinner, He gave him the gift of the remission
of sins with His righteousness. God’s mercy is what brings great love
and salvation to those who have no qualification to be saved. God has
given such merciful love to everyone.
Yet
many people still do not try to know the righteousness of God, nor do
they believe in it. That’s because they do not appreciate the power of
the gospel that is fulfilled by the righteousness of God. The deceased
in our story became a righteous man because he came to understand God’s
righteousness and believe in it. Although he had never lived his life on
this earth perfectly, because he believed in the gospel containing the
righteousness of God, he was washed and saved perfectly from all his
sins. None other than this is the very salvation that the Bible speaks
of, attained by believing in God’s righteousness. Such people who
believe in God’s righteousness are all blessed people.
(Romans 4:6-7) “Just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;’”
All
those who believe in the righteousness of God, and whose faith is
therefore approved by God, are happy even if they could not keep all the
Law of God.
Who and what kind of people are the happiest people of all?
First:
Happy are those who believe in God’s righteousness and have thereby
received the remission of all their sins, whether already committed or
yet to be committed.
Second:
Happy are those whose sins are all covered by believing in God’s
righteousness, and who have escaped by faith from all their sins and all
their punishments.
If
you had done something terrible against your own country, and yet
someone else bore this crime in your place and died for your stead,
wouldn’t you be so happy and grateful to the person? Jesus did so for
you by being baptized and dying on the Cross, and has thereby delivered
you from all your sins. Now, if you could be remitted from all the sins
of the world by believing in the Truth of the righteousness of God,
wouldn’t you believe in it with all your heart? It is by believing in
the righteousness of God that you can become happy. Those of you who
believe in this Truth are happy.
Those Who Covered Their Sins with True Faith
(Romans 4:8) “Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”
Those
to whom the Lord does not impute sin are those who believe in the
gospel Word, the righteousness of God. Those who have received all
blessings from God are also those who believe in the righteousness of
God. He who believes in God’s righteousness is one whose faith is like
that of Abraham. He who believes in the righteousness of God is one who
is blessed like Abraham. My fellow believers, who could be blessed by
God like Abraham? Those who believe in God’s righteousness have been
blessed like Abraham.
The
Bible states that Abraham’s faith was approved by God because he
believed in everything God said. Like this, for all those who now
believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit as their
remission of sin, their faith is also approved by God as the right
faith. So if you also know what the righteousness of God is, then
believe in it with your heart. Then the heavenly blessings that were
once bestowed on Abraham will all be yours as well.
What
does the Bible say about the happiness of man? It says, “Blessed are
those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”
What would be our lawless deeds before God? Lawlessness before God
refers to not believing in His righteousness. Everyone commits sin
against God. So everyone must receive the remission of his sins by
believing in the righteousness of God.
What,
then, is the gospel of the righteousness of God? The true gospel is
that Jesus came to this earth, was baptized at the age of 30 to take
upon the sins of the world, died on the Cross, rose from the dead again,
and has thereby remitted away all the sins of mankind once and for all.
How could we cover our sins before God? Will our sins be covered if we
live virtuously?
The
Bible says that those whose sins are covered are those who believe in
God’s righteousness. All the sins of ours can be remitted away only when
we believe in the Word of God that contains His righteousness. In other
words, it is only when we accept the righteousness of God into our
hearts that our sins can be covered. All our sins can be blotted out
only when we believe in the Word of the baptism Jesus received from John
the Baptist, and of His blood on the Cross. It is by believing in God’s
righteousness like this that all our sins are covered.
Our
sins are not covered by our own good deeds, but only when we believe
that the baptism Jesus received from John and His blood on the Cross are
the price paid for our sins. It is this faith that can cover our sins.
Because of our sins, Jesus came to this earth, was baptized by John the
Baptist, and died on the Cross. By believing in this Truth with our
hearts, we can all cover our sins. How is this possible? It is because
we can put on God’s righteousness that covers all our lawlessness
sufficiently when we believe in the gospel where God’s righteousness is
contained. It is by believing God’s righteousness that all our sins are
covered.
Anyone
who has this kind of faith is a righteous person before God. Also, it
is such people who are most blessed before God. Just like the
father-in-law in our story, you and I, too, will go to God one day and
stand before His presence. No one can avoid this. This old man was a
blessed man because he heard the good news that Jesus came to this
earth, was baptized for him, and bore condemnation for him. And by
believing in this gospel, his sins were covered. So even though he had
no good work to show before God, his sins were still covered because of
his faith.
What
kinds of people are happy before God? Do you have the faith that can
cover your sins? Are you not, by any chance, trying to be saved from
your sins by living virtuously, without the gospel Word that holds the
righteousness of God? You must realize the Truth, which enables you to
cover all your sins when you know and believe in the righteousness of
God. Those who believe in God’s righteousness can all praise God. It is
not to be saved from our sins that we praise God. We praise God because
we have already been saved from all our sins and we are so thankful for
this.
Those
who have truthfully found happiness are those who have accepted God’s
righteousness into their hearts. Those who believe in the gospel that
holds the righteousness of God with their hearts are those whose sins
are covered thanks to God.
Whenever
a righteous person passes away, I take this person’s funeral as an
opportunity to preach the gospel. I do so because it is a good
opportunity to testify the righteousness of God to the family that’s
been left behind. Those who are truly happy believe in the gospel that
holds God’s righteousness and live their lives preaching this gospel.
My
fellow believers, you must not try to be saved from your sins through
your own good deeds. For your sins to be covered before God, you must
believe in God’s righteousness. If a rich man gives a diamond to a poor
man as a gift, all that the poor man has to do is just accept it with
thanks. Like this, to cover all our sins, God came to this earth and was
baptized. If, despite this, anyone still holds onto the belief that
although he believes in God he can receive the remission of his sins
only if he keeps the Law, or at least tries his best to keep it all to
establish his own righteousness, then his sins will never be covered by
God. We must all accept God’s righteousness by faith. We must never be
stingy with faith. On the contrary, we must accept it liberally.
Salvation Is Received without Good Deeds
(Romans 4:9)
“Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the
uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for
righteousness.”
This
verse speaks about the Law and God’s righteousness. Of these two, Paul
is saying here that one becomes happy not by keeping the Law, but by
believing in God’s Word.
Paul
explains that Abraham was blessed by believing in what God had told him
before he was physically circumcised. This is the faith that believes
in God’s righteousness, and this is the same belief of the people of
faith who have attained God’s righteousness by believing in this
righteousness.
Here,
the reason why Paul mentioned the timing of circumcision and
uncircumcision of Abraham was to teach the Jews that they could be
blessed by believing in God’s righteousness. We must believe in God with
this understanding. We must remember that Abraham’s faith was approved
by God because he believed in the righteousness of God that was
manifested in His Word.
In
Genesis 15:1-6, God promised to Abraham, “One who will come from your
own body shall be your heir.” Abraham was childless, so when God
appeared before him and wanted to give him something, he told God that
his servant Eliezer was to be his heir, since he had no child of his
own. God then said to Abraham, “This one shall not be your heir, but one
who will come from your own body shall be your heir” (Genesis 15:4).
Then God took him outside and said, “Look now toward Heaven and count
the stars if you are able to number them,” and went on to say, “So shall
your descendants be.” Abraham believed in Jehovah God and God accounted
Abraham’s faith for his righteousness. In other words, Abraham became a
man of faith whose trust in God was approved by Him (see Genesis
15:5-6).
Our
faith is approved by God not when we keep the commandments of the Law
given to us, but when we believe that God has blotted out all our sins
through the baptism and blood of His Son Jesus. We are accounted as
righteous people by believing in God’s Word like this. We receive the
remission of our sins and become God’s children not by keeping the Law
of God, but only by believing that God has remitted away all our sins
through the baptism of Jesus and His blood, for God loves us all. This
faith is the faith of Abraham that was approved by God, for he believed
in God’s Word.
Just
as Abraham became a man of faith by believing in what God said to him,
our faith is also approved by God by believing in the Word of the
baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the Cross. Abraham’s
faith and the faith of those in this age who believe in the gospel Word
of the water and the Spirit are both the same faith, and it is this
faith in God’s righteousness that saves us.
The
God whom we believe is the God of righteousness. If we believe in God’s
righteousness, then this righteousness of God becomes ours, and
therefore our faith is approved by God. The real faith in God and His
Word is one that believes in His righteousness. You, too, must believe
in God’s righteousness and have your faith be approved by God.
Hallelujah!
The
Bible says the following about those who have attained happiness:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin”
(Romans 4:7-8).
Was
Abraham then justified because of his circumcision? Or was he justified
before he was circumcised, by believing in God’s promise? Abraham was
saved by believing in the Word of the righteousness of God, irrespective
of his circumcision. For us also, it is by believing in God’s Word of
righteousness that we are saved from all our sins.
In
the following verse, Paul asks when Abraham was justified by God. In
other words, he asks when Abraham accepted the Word of the righteousness
of God. Was it after he was circumcised? Or was it before? If it was
after he was circumcised, then one may think that Abraham’s circumcision
had something to do with his justification. On the other hand, if
Abraham’s faith was approved by God before he was circumcised, then we
can see his faith had nothing to do with his acts. The God-given
salvation of righteousness is not attained through physical
circumcision. When was Abraham’s faith approved by God? The answer is
clear. Abraham’s faith was approved by God in Genesis 15:6, that is, 14
years before he was circumcised.
Therefore,
because Abraham was approved by God for his faith in His Word, just
like him, his descendants also came to be imputed with righteousness by
the same faith. Whoever believes in God’s Word of righteousness has his
faith approved by God. This is how Abraham became the father of faith
who was saved from all his sins by faith. Abraham was justified by
believing in God’s Word. He was circumcised as a sign of his faith in
God’s Word of promise. Ultimately, it was because of his faith that
Abraham was approved as a righteous man and became the father of faith
for us. Because his faith was already accounted to him for his
righteousness before he was circumcised, he became the father of faith
for all those who believe in God.
Paul
said that for both the Jews and the Gentiles to attain the
righteousness of God, all must return to the faith of salvation promised
by God’s righteousness that justified Abraham on account of his faith,
not on account of physical circumcision practiced under the Law.
The
salvation from all your sins is possible only when you believe in God’s
righteousness. All of you are standing on either side, either you have
been saved by the righteousness of God, or you still have not been saved
at all. That’s because one is justified not by acts, but by faith.
(Romans 4:10) “How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.”
Because
Abraham believed in God and His Word of promise spoken to him, God
considered his faith as the right faith. What we need to realize from
this passage is that God did not just approve Abraham’s faith out of
simple generosity and blind love even though it was insufficient.
Although
Abraham was weak in the flesh and had so many shortcomings in his
deeds, God approved Abraham’s faith because his faith in God and His
Word was proper in God’s sight. God did not just consider him sinless
without any proper reason. Do you understand this point?
An
additional point that must be ascertained from this passage before we
move on is the question over the Doctrine of Justification. Is the faith
of this doctrine the proper faith in God? The Doctrine of Justification
claims that even if someone still has sin, if he believes in Jesus,
then God takes this faith into account and considers him as a righteous
person and His child. But this faith is not the faith that believes in
the righteousness of God. Yet this doctrine appeals to many Christian
sinners who still have sin in their hearts even though they believe in
Jesus, and so most Christians adhere to this doctrine without any doubt.
But,
does God really account sinners to be righteous just because they
profess to be Christians? No way! When God looks at our faith, He looks
at whether or not we believe in the gospel Word of the water and the
Spirit that constitutes God’s righteousness, and He approves only this
faith as the right faith. If we otherwise do not believe in the gospel
Word of the water and the Spirit that has become God’s righteousness,
and instead believe in Jesus only as a religious figure, then God does
not lawlessly consider our sins remitted away just because of this one
reason, even as we still retain our sins. Do you understand this?
Curch
Christian doctrines as the Doctrine of Justification or the Doctrine of
Incremental Sanctification are never the Word that actually constitutes
the righteousness of God. On the contrary, they lead us to false
beliefs, trying to obtain God’s righteousness by practicing the Law
through our own acts, like physical circumcision. Would such faith be
approved by God? No, God will not approve this kind of faith. God does
not approve crude beliefs that are legalistic and man-made. As evidence,
we can see that in the hearts of those who believe in such doctrines as
the Doctrine of Justification or the Doctrine of Incremental
Sanctification, there is no righteousness of God, and therefore their
sins still remain intact, for they have not received the remission of
their sins. In contrast, for those who have the faith that is approved
by God, we cannot find any sin at all in their hearts, no matter how
hard we might try.
The
evidence of the fact that faith in the righteousness of God is found in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit is that there is absolutely no
sin remaining in the hearts of those who believe in this gospel. And
even as they are insufficient, they still remain without sin. Such faith
is the faith that is founded on the Truth and believes in God’s
righteousness.
We
should realize that Abraham’s faith was approved by God before he was
physically circumcised. Christians do not become sinless in time just
because they try to obey the Law of God faithfully everyday, or because
they keep offering prayers of repentance time after time whenever they
stumble from the Law. Rather, they are remitted from all their sins and
become sinless by believing with their hearts in the gospel Word of the
water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God when they
first believe in Jesus. To thus obtain the righteousness of God by
faith like this is to become a believer in God’s righteousness.
When
you first believed in Jesus, did you believe in God’s righteousness?
And do you still believe in the righteousness of God, even now? If you
believe that Jesus is the Savior of sinners, then believe in His baptism
and blood as the righteousness of God that has remitted away all your
sins once and for all. If you believe in this, then God’s righteousness
will become your righteousness. You will then have the same faith as
Abraham’s faith. May the blessings of the righteousness of God be with
you all.
(Romans 4:11)
“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness
of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be
the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that
righteousness might be imputed to them also,”
God
approved Abraham’s faith while he was uncircumcised, and what we can
find out from this is that God has made us possess the faith that
attains His righteousness like Abraham by believing in the Word of His
righteousness when we had failed to keep His Law. Abraham was a man
whose faith was approved by God because he believed in God and what He
said to him. For us, who are now living in this age, our faith can be
approved by God only if we believe in the Word of the water and the
Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God. Abraham is the eternal
father of true faith.
In the Footsteps of the Faith of the Righteousness of God
(Romans 4:12-13)
“And the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the
circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our
father Abraham had while still uncircumcised. For the promise that he
would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through
the law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
By
believing in God’s Word, Abraham became the father of faith to all
those who are spiritually circumcised. The ritualistic circumcision that
the Jews of that time practiced was a circumcision that had no
spiritual effect whatsoever for them to have the same faith of Abraham
and become his real descendants. It was merely a sign that showed that
they were Abraham’s descendants in their blood lineage.
Abraham’s
faith was not approved by his physical circumcision, but it was a faith
that was rooted in his heart by believing in God and His Word before he
was circumcised in the flesh. This is how Abraham’s faith was approved
as the right faith. The faith for which Abraham was approved by God was
the faith that he had 430 years before God gave the Law to the people of
Israel (Galatians 3:17). Therefore, the faith of spiritual circumcision
has nothing to do with the Law that God gave to the Jews.
To
believe in God and His spoken Word is the true faith that believes in
His righteousness. If we believe in the gospel Word of the water and the
Spirit that constitutes His righteousness, then we will receive the
blessing of salvation from all our sins. In short, to believe in this
gospel is to believe in the righteousness of God.
We
must have the faith of our spiritual predecessors, and we must follow
in their footsteps. If we fail to do so, and instead only follow the
rituals and acts of the predecessors of faith, then our faith will
flounder. So we must discover the faith of the disciples before us, and
at the same time have the same faith as theirs. The faith of our
predecessors in the Bible was always founded on the Word of the Old
Testament.
Through
the sacrificial system written in the Pentateuch of the Old Testament,
God made the people of Israel receive the remission of their sins by
laying their hands on the head of their sacrificial animal and drawing
its blood. So in the New Testament also, we must believe according to
such a law of salvation. To do so, we must be aware of the sacrificial
system of the Old Testament, and at the same time we must also have the
knowledge of the gospel of the water and the Spirit in the New
Testament.
To
become spiritual pilgrims to Heaven, we must have faith in the
righteousness of God, and we must be able to deny ourselves. Abraham
left his homeland following God’s Word of righteousness. Because of
this, Abraham left behind the religious faith that prevailed in that
land, and he came to have the faith that followed the righteousness of
God. It is for this reason that Jesus told us to deny ourselves everyday
and pick up our cross and follow Him (Luke 14:26).
Spiritual
pilgrims are characterized by the fact that they follow the
righteousness of God. This is the way walked by the disciples of Jesus
who embarked on the path of the pilgrims of Heaven. The pilgrims of
Heaven leave their religious faith behind, and instead believe in God’s
righteousness, deny themselves, and follow the Word.
Abraham
left his homeland and lived a life that walked with the Word of God. It
is because his faith was placed in the Word of God that it was approved
by God. Abraham did not insist on any religious notions that he had or
on his own thoughts. Once he began to walk with God, he threw out his
religious experiences and instead followed God’s righteousness. This was
the faith that he had and this is the true faith that follows the
righteousness of God. That is the sound judgment of the pilgrims who
believe in God’s righteousness and follow it. Abraham boldly cast aside
anything that might cover the light of God and make him forget this
glorious memory.
Having
left Haran, Abraham never stopped his pilgrimage. What’s more, he was
already 75 when he left Haran. He lived for 175 years before going to
God. Even when we consider the average lifespan in those days, when
Abraham was called by God he was already well into his midlife, and yet
he still followed Him believing in His Word innocently. What about you
then? Are you also the possessors of pure faith who follow the
righteousness of God?
The
reason why Paul said the following in verse 18 is also because of
Abraham’s faith: “[Abraham], contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that
he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So
shall your descendants be.’” You, too, must have faith in the Word of
God “who makes us hope for what cannot be hoped.”
The Righteousness of God Is Attained by Faith
(Romans 4:14) “For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,”
Now
in this age, if God were to approve the faith of the Doctrine of
Incremental Sanctification or the Doctrine of Justification, which are
both oriented toward the acts of the Law, then the right faith that
attains God’s righteousness by believing in this righteousness would
disappear forever. Paul said that if those who are of the Law are God’s
children, then faith in His righteousness is made void. Therefore, if
you really long to find God’s righteousness and believe in it, then you
should believe with the heart in the gospel Word that has come by the
Word of the water and the Spirit, not the acts of the Law, and thereby
attain the righteousness of God.
Faith
in the righteousness of God advocates the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. But legalistic and dogmatic faith rejects the righteousness of
God, for it belongs to acts. If we could attain God’s righteousness by
placing our faith in our ability to keep the Law of God, as the Doctrine
of Justification and the Doctrine of Incremental Sanctification do,
then God would not have spoken His Word of promise to Abraham in the
first place.
Abraham
was a man of faith who attained God’s righteousness in the age of the
Old Testament by hearing and believing in the Word of God. His faith has
now become an example for all those who believe and follow God’s
righteousness.
After
approving Abraham’s faith, God promised him through the covenant of
circumcision that He would take him and his descendants as the people of
His righteousness. It was a special blessing for God to bestow the law
of circumcision on Abraham. In this blessing, there is the mystery that
enables us to attain God’s righteousness. The faith that is hidden in
this mystery is obtained by hearing the Word of God. The righteousness
of God and the righteousness of man are diametrically opposed to each
other. That’s why we must look for the righteousness of God and believe
in it. And we must also reject circumcision as a religious ritual.
Only
those who know the gospel of the water and the Spirit where God’s
righteousness is revealed can obtain their salvation. God approved
Abraham’s faith because Abraham believed in Him according to His Word.
(Romans 4:15) “Because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.”
In
chapters 3 and 7 of the Book of Romans, Paul said that the God-given
Law is only to expose people’s sins before God. If the Jews at that time
really became God’s sinless children just because they were physically
circumcised, then we would conclude that we can also become God’s
sinless children by keeping the Law. However, the problem of the Jews at
that time was that they in fact did not have the faith of Abraham,
their forefather. In other words, they only had faith in ritualistic
circumcision, and this was their fallacious belief.
For
you and I now living in this age, if we do not acknowledge the Word of
God’s Law, then we, too, would not know what sin is, and even after
sinning, we would not know what sins we might have committed against
God. As such, through the statutes of the God-given Law, we must admit
that we are depraved sinners and confess the sins we have committed.
Coming before Jesus Christ who has fulfilled the righteousness of God,
we must believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit; we must
thereby become sinless once and or all, turn into righteous people, and
glorify God the Father.
In
the early church period, the Jews and the Gentiles had fallen into the
belief of circumcision and legalism, but now in this age and time, the
gospel of the water and the Spirit is being preached openly, and so it
is an age when the believers are saved from the sins of the world and
forever turned into God’s children. Do you know the righteousness of God
that has come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit? If you do,
then throw away your legalistic faith and believe in God’s righteousness
with all your hearts.
(Romans 4:16)
“Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that
the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of
the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the
father of us all”
The
way to become God’s children is not something that is attained through
our own acts, but it is what God has given us as the gift of His
righteousness. In other words, it is by believing in God and His gospel
Word of the water and the Spirit that we can become His children.
Everyone must have the same faith as Abraham’s faith.
(Romans 4:17) “(as
it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’) in the
presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and
calls those things which do not exist as though they did…”
Abraham
had unwavering faith in God. And he believed unwaveringly that God
would infallibly fulfill the Word of covenant that He promised to him.
That’s why Abraham became the father of true faith for us, for the Jews,
and for the legalists all alike.
Like
this, we must remember and believe everything God did—that is, Jesus
came to this earth and took upon all the sins of the world by being
baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:15), carried the sins of the
world to the Cross (John 1:29), died on the Cross for the sins of the
world (John 19:30), and rose from the dead again (John 20:21)—all
constitutes God’s righteousness. It is faith in this Word that enables
us to obtain God’s righteousness.
The Righteous Who Live by Believing in God’s Righteousness
(Romans 4:18)
“Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father
of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your
descendants be.’”
By
believing in God and all that He spoke, Abraham was approved for his
faith, and he became the head of faith for all those from every nation
who believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that
constitutes God’s righteousness.
It
was God’s will for Abraham to be raised as the father of faith of many
nations. Abraham believed in God and everything He said and for this
faith he was approved and blessed by God. It was God’s will. Today, for
us, it is also God’s will to be blessed by Him by believing in the
gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that constitutes His
righteousness.
At
the age of 75, Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans, his country, his
family, and his father’s house, and followed God’s Word. And he believed
in God’s promise that He would make his children as many as the stars
in the sky. Abraham believed in God’s Word exactly as He said it.
Because he believed in God’s Word contrary to what was humanly possible
to hope, he was approved as a righteous man.
Abraham’s
faith became an exemplar to all those who followed in his footsteps and
believed in God, and led them to also become righteous by faith. In the
flesh, all the Israelis are Abraham’s descendants. Palestinians, too,
are all his descendants. Though Abraham was old, he still begot a son
because he believed in God’s Word.
Can
a woman 90 years old give birth to a child? No. Sarah was way past
menopause and so she could not bear any child. Yet God appeared before
Abraham and promised him, “Abraham! Through the heir begotten from your
own body, I will give you as many descendants as the stars in the sky.”
And Abraham believed in what God told him. This was something that was
humanly impossible to hope, but he still believed it because it was what
God had said.
The
Bible tells us that this kind of faith is true faith. This is what true
faith is. It is to believe that whatever God said will all be fulfilled
exactly as He said it, even if it seems impossible in human thoughts.
Though it may seem impossible in human thoughts, to believe that it will
be fulfilled exactly as God said so, precisely because that is what God
said—this is true faith.
Therefore,
faith is to believe in what is not seen as if it is seen. If we hope
for and believe in what God said, then it will be fulfilled according to
His Word. Since the Word of God is true, all that we have to do is just
believe in it. Even though it may seem impossible in our thoughts, to
believe that it will be done because God said so is what faith is all
about. Whenever we pray, we ask for the righteousness of God according
to His will. And when we believe in His faithfulness, it will be
fulfilled just as we believe. None other than this is faith.
If
we were to define true faith, it would be the following: “Now faith is
the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”
(Hebrews 11:1). This faith is the right faith. Faith is the substance of
things hoped for. In other words, if we hope for the righteousness of
God and believe in His Word, then everything will be fulfilled according
to the Word. So, when we believe and hope for what God said, then it is
actually fulfilled.
If
you and I believe in the Word of God, then it will be fulfilled
according to how we believe. By believing in what God told him, Abraham
begot Isaac. After this, Abraham’s faith was tested by God. God told him
to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham’s faith was
tested greatly. “What do You mean? I got my son because I believed in
Your Word that You would give me a son, and now are you asking me to
sacrifice this son as a burnt offering?”
If
Abraham did not believe in God, he would have stood against God,
saying, “What kind of God are You?” However, Abraham told himself, “God
promised me that he would infallibly give me a son begotten from my own
body, and He also promised that He would make my descendants as many as
the stars in the sky. So I believe in this Word. If I sacrifice my son
as a burnt offering, God will bring him back to life for sure,” and by
this faith he went on his way to give his son as a burnt offering. He
believed that since God had given him Isaac, even if he were to kill his
son as a burnt offering, God would make sure to bring him back to life.
When
Abraham took this son to Mountain Moriah and was about to kill him to
offer him as a burnt offering, seeing this faith of Abraham, God told
Abraham not to kill his son. It is written, “And He said, ‘Do not lay
your hand on the lad, or do anything to him’” (Genesis 22:12). Abraham
killed his son by faith and he brought him back to life by faith. It was
by faith that Abraham begot his son, and it was by faith that he begot
all his descendants. He begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot
twelve sons, and this is how the people of Israel have come to prosper
today.
To
believe in God is to believe like this. Can we see God with our eyes of
the flesh? No, we can’t see Him with our naked eyes. But faith is the
substance of things hoped for. We believe in God even though we can’t
see Him. Seeing God’s creation, and through His divine attributes
revealed everywhere in this creation, we can realize that God exists. We
come to believe that there is a God, even though He is not seen by our
eyes. While following the Word of God, Abraham went through many
hardships. He was also tested, but his test was resolved by trusting in
God. Though he faced all kinds of difficult tests, he passed them all by
faith.
Many
people throughout the whole world now have the faith of Abraham. I am
not talking about Abraham here just to tell you about the historical
events that happened to him. Rather, what I am trying to convey to you
through the faith of Abraham is that you must live by believing in the
righteousness of God. You must ask God for His righteousness by faith,
and you must preach the gospel throughout the world by faith. And you
must live by faith according to the will of God.
Were
it not for our faith in the righteousness of God, how else could we
follow Him? And how else could we live? Some of you may have received
the remission of your sins, and some of you may not, but to those who
have received the remission of sin, I would like to say the following:
You must have faith in the Word of God; without faith, how else would
your hopes and dreams be fulfilled? Only when you have faith can your
wishes be fulfilled before God; only when you have faith can you follow
the Lord; only when you have faith can you preach the gospel all over
the world; only when you have faith can you be blessed by God; and only
when you have faith can your heart’s dreams be fulfilled. And according
to the Lord’s promise, you can really meet Him even while you are still
alive.
Someone
who has no faith is like a scarecrow and dry chaff. When the grain is
gathered and milled, the husks come off; the empty husks are chaffs. We
eat the grain, but what do we do with the chaffs? They are threshed from
the grain into a pile, and then they are burnt, put into pillows, or
used as fertilizers—the faithless are like this. And the faithless are
also like dry straws. They are like completely dry straws, which blow
away when the wind picks up; everyone would face this unless he has
faith in God.
Therefore,
we the believers must deny our own thoughts and believe in the Word of
God, just as Abraham believed contrary to his hope. By hoping and
believing against hope, Abraham became the father of faith. And the
dreams he hoped for before God were fulfilled, and God’s promises all
came true because he kept what God had told him until the end by faith.
This faith is the true faith that all of us must have.
Without
faith, we are nothing. Those of us who have no faith are just like
sinners. Trusting in the Lord, we are now preaching the gospel
throughout the whole world, but if we were to look at just our
situation, it would appear to be an impossible task. But what has
actually happened? We believe that it is the Lord’s will to preach the
gospel throughout the whole world. We are doing this work because we
have such faith, and because we believe that through the born-again,
righteous people, God will infallibly fulfill this work that spreads the
gospel all over the world.
What
about the age of the New Testament then? In the age of the New
Testament, God speaks to us through His written Word. God does not speak
directly to us with His voice like He called on Abraham’s name in the
Old Testament, but He now speaks to us only through the written Word.
Therefore, it is through the written Word of God that we can find out
His will, and it is by believing in God’s Word that we can build our
faith and follow His Word. God’s Word will be fulfilled to us exactly as
it is written and we believe in this.
This
faith must be continuously applied to all aspects of our actual lives.
Since without faith we are incapable of following God’s Word, it is
because of faith that we can live out our faith, and it is because we
believe in it that everything is fulfilled according to the Word of God.
While we face numerous problems, these problems are solved because we
believe, and we pray because we believe. And because we believe in the
Word of God, we rise up to our challenges by faith, and we get all the
problems of our lives solved.
Anyone
who wants to have his faith approved by God must have faith in the Word
of God. So you need to examine yourselves to see whether or not you
really have faith in God’s Word. Do your hearts really have faith, even
as small as a mustard seed? You must be able to see it clearly and if
there is no faith, then you must have faith in the Word of God. What
should you do when you do not even have this faith? Then you must hold
onto the written Word.
The
Bible tells us about faith like a mustard seed. Our Lord said to His
disciples, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’
and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6). The Lord told us that He would hear
our prayers and answer us according to our faith. Some of you will
probably say that you really have no faith in your hearts, and that you
just can’t figure out what faith is. Such people must have the kind of
faith that holds onto the written Word. Faith like a mustard seed will
then spring up; because of this faith that’s like a mustard seed, you
will come to have a greater faith; and then because of this faith, the
Word of promise will be fulfilled to you and you will come to live by
faith before God.
If
you have attained God’s righteousness by faith, even as you had nothing
to do with Him, then you must follow God and run your race by faith. Do
you believe in God’s Word, my fellow believers? When it comes to
believing in this Word, you shouldn’t just end at mere knowledge, but
you must hold onto it.
The
Bible is composed of 66 Books, and of all this Word, if we do not hold
onto even a single passage, then the Word is rendered all useless for
us. That’s why we must hold onto God’s Word. It is when we hold onto the
Word of God that this Word becomes ours, yours and mine. That’s why we
must all hold fast onto the Word.
After
God promised Abraham that He would give him a child, God fulfilled this
promise 25 years down the road. Throughout all these years Abraham’s
faith was held fast onto the Word that God promised. In your everyday
life and at its every turn and twist, you must also live by faith
believing in the Word. When we thus hold onto the Word and pray, faith
as a mustard seed will spring up in us. We will then become people of
faith and we will be answered and blessed.
There
is an old saying in Korea that describes something impossible as
“trying to break the rock with an egg.” If we look at it with our
thoughts of the flesh, we may wonder, “How on earth will we accomplish
this work of spreading the gospel throughout the whole world?” But, if
we have faith and believe in God, then this is all possible. We are now
preaching the gospel all over the world. Even if our planet is thousands
of times bigger than this universe, we can still spread the gospel all
over this world if we have faith.
We
must live by trusting in God. We must believe in the Word. You, too,
must trust in the Word of God. All God’s promises for Abraham were
fulfilled because he believed in what God had told him. Abraham begot a
son, a son that had been impossible for him to have. God told him that
He would bless him, give him the land of Canaan, and bless his
descendants as well. Abraham believed in this Word. And so by his faith
he got all God’s promises fulfilled.
It
is by faith that we live. We live not because of anything else, nor
because there is something else out there, but it is only because there
is God’s Word that we live by trusting in Him. That’s why our faith is
so indispensable, and that’s why we must all believe in God’s Word. And
it is here that lies the reason for us to live by believing in the Word
even after receiving the remission of our sins by believing in Jesus.
This was the faith of our spiritual predecessors.
(Romans 4:19) “And
not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead
(since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s
womb.”
The
reason why Abraham’s faith was not weakened is because he had
unwavering faith in God’s spoken Word. When someone attains God’s
righteousness by believing in the Word of this righteousness, his faith
in God becomes as strong as that of Abraham. For all those who believe
today in the Word of the righteousness of God, their faith is also
strengthened like this.
The
gospel Word of the water and the Spirit constitutes the righteousness
of God and it gives this righteousness to the believers, and therefore
those who believe in it will become God’s children and His servants. No
matter how difficult their circumstances might be the believers in the
righteousness of God will always triumph by faith, for they have faith
in God and in the truth that His Word will be fulfilled.
(Romans 4:20) “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,”
Abraham
believed in what God promised to him without any doubt. So it was
because of this faith in God’s promises that Abraham came to give glory
to God. The same principle holds for today as well. Those who believe in
the Word of the righteousness of God hope for the fulfillment of the
Word and keep their circumstances under control, for they believe in all
the Word that God promised them.
(Romans 4:21-22) “And
being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to
perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’”
Abraham
believed that even if his son Isaac was killed, God would bring him
back to life and fulfill His promise that He would make Abraham’s
descendants as many as the countless stars in the sky. Because of this,
God approved his faith as a truly upright one.
How
is your faith? Do you have faith in the Word of God that He blotted out
all your original sin and personal sins, even your future sins, through
the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross? Such faith is the
faith that is placed in the righteousness of God, one that is approved
by God.
Those
who have faith in God’s righteousness also believe that all their sins
of weakness, no matter what, were passed onto the Lord and washed away
through His baptism. They also have faith that because of His baptism,
the Lord carried the sins of the world to the Cross and died on it for
all those sins. And they believe that the Lord rose from the dead again,
and He will clothe the believers in the righteousness of God with the
glory of the first resurrection. Do you have such faith? If you want to
have this faith, then believe in Jesus as your righteousness, in the
Lord who has blotted out all your sins by being baptized, carrying the
sins of the world to the Cross, and being crucified all for you. The
righteousness of God will then become yours.
(Romans 4:23) “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,”
When
Abraham believed in God and His Word, God not only approved his faith
and blessed him to become one of His people by bestowing His
righteousness on him, but He also made him the father of faith for all
the people of true faith to come. To those who actually believe in His
Word, God has given the gift of power bestowed by the Word according to
its promises. In other words, if we believe in the gospel Word of the
water and the Spirit where the righteousness of God is held, then all
our countless sins that are thicker than the dark clouds will disappear.
The privilege that comes from having faith in God’s Word, which
constitutes the righteousness of God, is not confined to just Abraham,
but today it is also in our possession, whose faith is just like
Abraham’s faith.
(Romans 4:24) “But also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,”
God’s
righteousness is for those who believe in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit today. Today, those who believe in the righteousness of God
revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the ones who have
faith in God.
(Romans 4:25) “Who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”
Jesus
rose from the dead again to make us believers in God’s righteousness
sinless (righteous), and to raise us from the dead as well. Jesus came
to this earth and blotted out all the sins of the world with His baptism
and His blood on the Cross, and what He did to make us righteous is
God’s righteousness. God has made the believers in this Truth righteous
(sinless).
I
admonish you all to believe in this Truth also, cleanse away all the
falsehoods that are in you, and live a life that glorifies God. It is my
sincerest desire for all the blessings of God to be bestowed on you.
The
Lord came to this earth because of us. And because of our iniquities,
He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and took upon
the sins of the world. He also carried the sins of the world to the
Cross, was crucified to death, and rose from the dead again. All these
things were done to save you and me from all our sins. And in doing so,
He has made us His believers “sinless,” and has given us the blessing of
becoming His children and attaining everlasting life. All these things
are for you and me.
Hallelujah!
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